WASHINGTON – People’s Action, a multiracial working class alliance of more than a million members, is bringing nearly 100 people from across the country to the Families Belong Together march and rally in Washington, D.C., to demand an end to Trump’s cruel, illegal policy of keeping families in detention indefinitely.
People’s Action joins its allies including National Domestic Workers Alliance, MoveOn.org, the ACLU and the Leadership Conference in organizing actions nationwide. People’s Action member organizations in 25 states will lead or support 36 demonstrations in cities, small towns and rural communities, including in: Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Carolina, and Washington.
These nationwide protests are a direct response to Trump’s newest family separation policy as he continues to conspire with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to allow the government to hold migrant children in jail for over 20 days, expand family detention, and legalize religious discrimination.
WHO: People’s Action leaders, organizers, member organization representatives
WHAT: Families Belong Together March and Rally
WHEN: Saturday, June 30, 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
WHERE: White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.
VISUALS: People’s Action delegation will wear white t-shirts with “free the families” and carrying signs reading “Families Belong Together – and Free”, “Free the Families” and “Abolish ICE.”
“The outrage at the Trump administration’s decision to intentionally separate children from their parents extends throughout the country,” said George Goehl, director of People’s Action. “The news cameras will be rolling in big cities, but rural and small town communities are rising up, too, and saying ‘this is immoral and must be stopped.’ We refuse to take the bait when this administration uses race to divide us.”
People’s Action, rooted in the Heartland, Rust Belt, Midwest, and the South, is made up of people from all walks of life who are providing unique perspectives on what family and community look like.
**AVAILABLE SPOKESPEOPLE**
Below are a few of the People’s Action organizers and leaders participating in the Families Belong Together march and rally. For interviews, please contact, Kawana Lloyd, 240-472-2860, kawana@megaphonestrategies.com
Jeremiah Jaynes, Down Home North Carolina, Haywood, North Carolina: A dad from Appalachia who was incarcerated during a major surgery for his young daughter. He is able to share perspective about not blaming immigrants for changes in his community and not turning poor people against each other. He recently wrote an opinion piece: “Being Separated from My Child Nearly Destroyed Me.”
Qiana Johnson, Progressive Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland: Qiana is a formerly incarcerated mom and mass incarceration fellow with Progressive Maryland. She is available to talk about family separation and its impact on her own kids. She can also offer thoughts on the our nation’s long history of separating African American children from their families via slavery and what institutional family separation looks like for African American families today.
Rev. Sara LaWall, United Vision for Idaho, Boise, ID: Sara is a Unitarian Universalist minister, a mom and an activist committed to justice, family, and the spirit.
Samantha Nichols, The People’s Lobby, Chicago, Illinois: Samantha is the Vicar at a Lutheran church in Chicago and the lead organizer of Seminarians for Justice, a powerful organization of seminarians who enact God’s love by organizing for social justice in Chicago as part of The People’s Lobby. Samantha will join ELCA youth in Houston in taking action to end family detention.
Oliver “O.J.” Semans, Native Organizers Alliance, Mission, South Dakota: O.J. is from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and is executive director of Four Directions, a voting rights organization dedicated to advancing equality at the ballot box across Indian Country. O.J. is available to talk about foster care policies that place Native children in non-native foster homes.
Jessica Juarez Scruggs, People’s Action, Deputy Director of Policy, Washington, DC: Jessica helps member organization create policy demands that put people over profit including for climate justice, mass liberation, health care, voting rights and immigration. Jessica is available to speak about immigration policy, her feelings as the mother of young children and her participation in the weeks’ actions.
Brandon Sturdivant, People’s Action, Mass Liberation Campaign, Oakland, California: Brandon is an organizer with People’s Action. He can talk about the impact of mass incarceration and detentions on black and brown communities, and the push for mass liberation.
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